Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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LOS ALEGRES DE TERAN

Conjunto band, with Eugenio Abrego, accordion; Tomas Ortiz, bajo sexto; named after the town of Teran near Monterrey in Mexico. Both musicians were born in Nuevo Leon and had fathers who played accordion. They became a distinctive and long-lived act (though breaking up temporarily '60s), radically changing the concept of conjunto in '40s-'50s due to Abrego's outstanding accordion work and the power of their vocal duets. They first recorded '48 for Orfeo, later for McAllen, Texas- based Falcon, Del Valle and Discos Columbia (Mexican Columbia, reissued on Caytronics/ Caliente). Based latterly in McAllen, they popularized the music of the Texas-Mexican border, but also took musica norte¤o as far as Latin and South America. Selected discography: Various artists: Texas-Mexican Border Music Vol 1: An Introduction; Texas-Mexican Border Music Vol 13: Norte¤o Acordeon Part 3: Southern Texas & Monterrey; (both Folklyric). Los Alegres de Teran: Corridos Famosas; Mas Corridos Famosas; El Ausente; (all Falcon); Fogata Norte¤a (Discos Columbia, reissued on Caytronics).